174 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTtiRlST. 
[Sept. 2, 1901. 
PRODUCE, PLANTING, AND COMMER- 
CIAL NOTES. ■ 
Last week the long threatened movement for 
establising private salea of tea in Mincing Lane 
took practical shape. The object is, of course, the 
securing of secrecy as to the price paid, and this does 
not at all suit the retail tea trade. The " Grocer " 
warns its readers to be very careful in making any 
purchases of Ceylon tea, otherwise they will probably 
find that they have been paying the dealers the very 
l^rge profits that these secret tea auctions are de- 
sired to effect, with the result that their tea trade 
will be seriously damaged. 
Referring to these private sales, which opened last 
week it says : " Last Tuesday the usual public sales 
of Cejlon tea took place, but the result was more or 
less a fiasco, as several leading buyers decided to abs- 
tain from active operations pending Thursday's private 
sales, and the greater portion was withdrawn, althongh 
the various parcels havebeen since dealt with privately 
without material change in values, On Thursday 9,839 
packages Ceylon v/ere offered at the private auction, 
, which quantity was sold with fair competition at, on 
the whole, steady rates, showing no alteration from 
the public salas of last week. The attendance was 
very large, many being doubtless present from curi- 
osity, in answer to the question whether buying 
brokers were to be allowed to circulate their lists of 
bought-over teas amongst buyers, it was stated that 
no objection would be raised, and beyond this there 
was no discussion. Some further private auctions are 
announced for next week besiooa the usual public ones, 
but so far Indian tea has not been included. The 
success of these private auctio'us depends on whether 
all those whom it is intended to benefit are able to 
see their expectations realised, but it would appear as 
if the majority of buyers were dubious as to its* 
ultimate good effects. Merchants doubtless expsct 
that by joining this experiment they will get better 
prices for their teas, but most buyers are keenly alive 
to the importance of purchasing in the cheapest 
market, and it is unlikely that an artificial rate of 
profit can be maintained. It must be refreshing fo 
buying brokers to know that their presence at these 
sales is tolerated, especially in depressed times, when 
they have ofte3i proved to be the backbone of the 
market, as other important operators are content for 
the moment to fill the role of spectators, whilst upon 
buying brokers the principal burden has fallen of 
carrying over stock and taking their chance of selling 
it later with commission only." 
At the conference held last week at Brighton of the 
Feders.tion of Grocers' Associa'.ions, Mr. OoUis Clark 
proposed the following resolution on behalf of the 
Metropolitan Association : — " That in the opinion of 
this conference the proposals which have recently been 
made to hold privaie auctions for tea sales, and so 
to establish a private tea exchange, is undesirable, and 
appears to be an attempt to bring about a corner in 
tea." Mr. Palmer Bryant (Loudon), in seconding the 
resolution, said he did not think they had anything to 
fear from the scheme. He believed it would die out 
very shortly. The resolution was carried, and 'he 
Secretary was instructed to forward a copy to the 
Tea Brokers' Association. 
The French Government has again postponed the 
application of the law of February 24th, 1901, which 
provided for the imposition of the French maximum 
tariii on foreign colonial produce. This latest post- 
ponement is to February 23rd next. — H. and C. Mail, 
July 12. 
THE UNITED STATKS TO RAISE THEIR 
OWN COFFEE. 
The United States is a v/onderful country and 
Americans a wonderful people worthy of their origin 
but there are some things that cannot be done, no 
even by electricity, and one of them i(i grow coffe 
on the sea. We do not know to a nicety what the area 
of the Amerio'du "possessions" suitable for coffee 
growing may be, but are willing to ri&k a guess that,, 
even with Cubn thrown in, it would not reach a quarter 
of what is already under cultivation here. There is, 
of course, the resource that we refer to in another 
column of building plant itious out on tresiles into the 
sea, but short of tliat, however anxious Americans 
may be to raise everything they consume within their 
own borders, it is impossifcle just at preseut. Besides, 
why be in a hurry? Is it not written that, in the 
fulness of time, when American markets are surfeited 
with their own produces and the power of the Trusts is 
waniup, Araeiicans will enter on the fulness of the 
vast inheritance reserved by Monroe and annex South 
America inalumpw.th Brazil and her Coffee planta- 
tions, all ready made, without any complicated en- 
gineering at all ? Meanwhile, why alienate the sym- 
pathies of a p"ssible poase-sioa by bo c uelly usu:ping 
functions so alien ? Let Brazil gr^w her coffee and 
sell it to the beneficent protector of South Americans 
— at a price — and be thankful it is no lower. 
No doubt ihe programme of raising everything you 
consurae is attractive enough to some minds, but, un- 
less it can he compleled by consuming all you raise, it 
has its weak points. It is all very well to assert that, 
come what may, decrepit Europe must take the States' 
produce at n,uy price ; but, if Europe is to go on buying 
without selling, she must, soon have nothing left to 
buy with and be bankrupt, when we suppose the U. 
States would supply everything gratis, out of pure 
philanthropy. All the same, Brazil has a few advan- 
tages in the coffee line that defy competition and will 
enable lier, in the expressive American vernacular, to 
lick not only the States, but the whole creation. 
Every time more Revenue is required, or a commer- 
cial treaty with this country is involved, pressure is 
brought to bear and hirazil warned of the awful con- 
sequences that obduracy may entail. Its undisguised 
official origin ia sufficient this time to show that, like 
its predecessors, the present is but another attempt to 
bluff reluctant Brazil into reciprocity. We can see 
no use or advantage in so tying our hand.s. No com- 
mercial treaty would prevent Ameiicans from cultivat- 
ing coffee in their " colonies ", if it pays ; and, if it 
doesn't, we require no treaty to give currency to our 
products in the States ; because, if as they are so fond 
of saying, Europe cannot do without their cereals, 
the States cannot do without coff -e, and in that parti- 
cular line we boss the show 1 — The Brazilian Re'jiew, 
June 18. 
• 
GERMANY AND SPAIN; AND 
FERNANDO PO. 
THE BIGHT OP PRE-EMPTION ACQUIRED. 
(London Times correspondent,) 
Bsrliu, July 10. 
The report of the acquisition by Germany 
of the right of pre-emption of Fernando Po 
is confirmed by the Coloniale Correspojzdem, 
which states that the agreement in question 
was made while the former Conservative 
Ministry of Senor Silvela was still in power. 
The value of the island, according to the 
same authority, consists in its cocoa and 
coffee plantations. These, wliich at the 
present moment are about 140 in number, 
are in tlie hands of half-breeds, Spaniards, 
Englishmen, and in some cases Germans. 
The trade is concentrated in the port ot Santa 
Isabel, and is carried on almost exclusively 
l)y Spaniards and Englishmen. The British 
firms of Holt and the Ambas Bay Trading 
Company liave each an establishment at 
Santa Isabel, with branch offices on the coast. 
At present alujost all th^ goods iroportect 
